§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the working of the Audit Commission Act 1998 as regards(a) access by the public to accounts of public bodies, (b) the grounds on which access to information can be withheld during the prescribed period of access and (c) the circumstances in which agreements between a public body and a private contractor can be withheld from inspection on grounds of confidentiality. [133948]
£ million Programme 1997–981 1998–991 1999–20001 2000–012 Special grants (regeneration) 0.9 1.1 1.4 1.4 Rough sleepers 15.2 17.5 24.9 30.6 Land reclamation3 49.5 53.3 33.1 6.3 Community Investment Fund3 4.8 6.3 3.8 1.4 Estates Renewal Challenge Fund 102.0 146.0 165.0 81.0 Single Regeneration Budget4 458.8 560.9 181.4 0.0 New Deal for Communities 0.0 0.2 48.5 120.7 Rural bus challenge5 0.0 1.6 4.7 20.0 Transport supplementary grant 194.9 155.5 158.0 21.8 Public transport facilities grant6 14.6 2.2 0.5 2.0 Industrial Development Act grant6 1.5 1.5 0.6 2.0 Transport credit approvals 443.3 367.9 470.6 777.9 Mobility Choice 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Community transport 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Environmental Action Fund 3.7 4.2 3.9 4.2 Capital Challenge Fund 146.9 246.5 208.0 0.0 1Actual outturn 2Provision 3Partial funding obtained from Non Departmental Public Bodies 4On 1 April 1999 the administration of the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) outside London transferred to the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). Figures for 1999–2000 relate only to the SRB in London, responsibility for which transferred to the London Development Agency in July 2000. 5Allocations were £11.4 million in 1998–1999 and £16.8 million in 1999–2000 6Figures may include non-voluntary private sector bodies Note:
European Regional Development Fund funding made available through the department was as follows: £191.5 million—£229.4 million—£278.0 million—£332.5 million.
The other information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.